Despite American politics being divisive and bitter, there are a few things most people agree with about the politicians they vote for and criticize. In a new Morning Consult poll, commissioned by the Public Affairs Council, Americans were asked what they hated most about the politicians in Congress.
“Republicans and Democrats don’t agree on a lot of things these days,” noted Doug Pinkham, the president of the Public Affairs Council. “No. 1 and No. 2 on the list was a lack of political courage and corruption. The scores among Democrats and Republicans were almost identical.”
The poll asked Americans about 10 different issues ranging from practices that are unseemly, unethical and even illegal. According to the poll, the first four things Americans hate are specific things politicians do.
Topping the list of what Americans hate about politicians is the view that politicians are more concerned about being reelected than making the best decisions. According to the poll, 72% of the public said that was a major problem.
Following corruption, the third and fourth most hated things are the bitter partisanship that prevents things from getting accomplished and the emphasis on fundraising. Americans said they feel politicians spend too much time fundraising.
The poll also looked at President Donald Trump’s Twitter account. For all the headlines it generates and more than a million followers, its reach is fairly limited in the grand scheme of things.
The report concluded that only 15% of the American public read Trump’s tweets.
“And not just following him, reading his tweets, but as reported in the news media,” Pinkham added. “My guess is most people read it in the news media.”
Pinkham said that 85% of Americans don’t often read Trump’s tweets, while 63% of Americans said they rarely or never pay attention to them. The same is said to be true for Republicans, independents and Democrats.
Even among Trump’s most loyal supporters, only 29% said they closely follow Trump’s social media account.
The survey polled 2,200 adults around the country back in August, and has a margin of error of +/- 2%.
